At New York Relays, Rhode Islanders stand tall in hammer

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

NEW  YORK -- With the skyscrapers of New York City as a backdrop, Rhode Island's hammer-throwing tradition was in full thrall Friday at the New York Relays at Randall's Island. The Rhode Islanders, led by Classical senior Jacob Furland (211-7) and sophomore Cheyenne Figueroa (158-1), took the top seven spots in the boys competition and the top five spots in the girls.

On a blustery night with temperatures in the low 40s, six schools from Rhode Island showed the tiny state's muscle in the event.

Coach Bob Palazzo's Classical (Providence) program was dominant, taking the top two spots, but it wasn't alone. Woonsocket, which placed second and third in the girls hammer (Marrisa Henley threw 155-5 and Katrina Kurowski 150-0); Lincoln, which took places two through four in the boys hammer (led by Garrett Doyle at 205-10); Barrington, Smithfield, and Ponaganset Regional (led by NBNO All-American Gianna Rao) all got in on the act.

"Throwing is very competitive," Henley said. "But it's more like a family. There's respect among throwers because not a lot of people do it."

The bond between Rhode Island throwers extends across school boundaries. The teams' athletes gathered together under blankets, body-bumped after PR tosses and sniped playfully following misses.

"I used to go to graduation parties for (hammer-throwing) athletes," said Bob Gourley, the coach at Barrington and a curator of the Gourley's List. "You'd go there for one kid and there'd be athletes from six or seven other schools there."

Figueroa and Henley share that bond. After Henley popped a PR of 155-5 she sashayed into a gaggle of Rhode Island throwers gathered around the cage.

"Haay!" Henley said, to fist-bumps. "PR!"

Classical and Woonsocket shared a bus for the three-and-a-half hour trip. For Rhode Island throwers, the New York Relays offers the rare opportunity to throw in an Olympic-style cage  and for the athletes.

"Me and Cheyenne, we're really good friends," Henley said. "It feels great to have friends in the sport."

Figueroa further explained.

"When we travel, we don't just care about ourselves," Figueroa said. "We want every Rhode Islander to do good. We love to show how good our state can be."

St. Joseph's Prep PA senior Miles Green produced a US#2 52.81 in the 400-meter hurdles over Newburgh Free Academy NY sophomore Ryler Gould (53.63).

St. Anthony's junior Matthew Payamps won the 3,200 in 9:14.73, closing in 56.9 to pull away from Saratoga Springs junior Shea Weilbaker (9:17.89) and St. Anthony's NY junior Mason Gatewood (9:19.52). 

It was a step up in distance for Payamps, who split 3:00 on the 1,200-meter leg on St. Anthony's 9:58.36 distance medley at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

"We've been doing a lot of strength work so I've become more comfortable with the distance races," Payamps said.

Saratoga Springs junior Kelsey Chmiel won the girls 3,000 in 9:43.52.

Goshen NY senior Liam Higgins, given the wintry conditions, produced an impressive 6:09.26 win in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. 

Some runners, from outside New York, gave the steeplechase a try for the first time. 

"My son, who is a freshman, tried it for the first time and loved it," Woonsocket RI assistant coach Jay Paskanik said. "He runs cross country and does the 300 hurdles, so he wanted to give it a try."